Stocks on Bay Street traded higher Monday -- led by a jump in gold stocks -- as investors brushed off more bad news from Nortel and turned their attention to China's massive stimulus package.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 92.59 points to 9,688.80.
China over the weekend announced a 4 trillion yuan plan to loosen credit conditions, cut taxes and embark on major infrastructure spending.
In earnings action -- Nortel Networks Corp. said it is cutting 1,300 more jobs amid ''worsening economic conditions'' after a quarterly net loss of US$3.41 billion. Sales declined 14 percent to US$2.32 billion.
CGI Group Inc. was up after quarterly earnings from continuing operations of $75.2 million, up 15.6 percent from a year ago. Revenue rose 2.8 percent for the Montreal-headquartered international information technology services provider to $929.2 million.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. said its summer-quarter profit descended 28 percent to $54.7 million or 42 cents per share.
On the data front -- Statistics Canada says new houses cost 2.1 percent more in September than they did a year earlier, but that increase was lower than the 2.3 percent rise recorded in August. Toronto new home prices were up 3.0 percent.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was trading at 83.75 cents US, down 0.07 cents.
BAYSTREET
Five of the TSX sub-groups traded higher today -- gold stocks edged up 5.99 percent followed by a 2.67 percent in energy issues and a 1.49 percent rise in telecom stocks.
Gold futures climbed $12.3 to close at $746.50 US an ounce.
On the downside -- tech stocks were down 2.93 percent; real-estate issues shed 1.94 and health-care stocks fell 1.68 percent.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange moved down 7.86 points to 914.02 while NASDAQ Canada stocks were off 15.13 points at 475.39.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks finished lower on Monday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average back below 9,000, after early enthusiasm over China's economic stimulus faded in favor of ongoing worries about U.S. companies, including General Motors Corp.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, up as much as 215 points early on, ended the day down 73.27 points, or 0.8 percent, at 8870.54. The S&P 500 lost 11.78 points, or 1.3 percent, to 919.21, and the Nasdaq shed 30.66 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1616.74.
Financial firms were in focus as Monday's session got under way. Troubled insurer American International Group received a revamped $150 billion bailout package from the U.S. government and reported a third-quarter loss of $24.47 billion, or $9.05 a share, compared with year-earlier net income of $3.09 billion, or $1.19 a share. AIG stock gained 8.1 percent to $2.28.
General Motors Corp. weighed the most on the blue-chip index, falling 22.9 percent after Deutsche Bank said shares of the automaker were likely worthless and that GM might not be able to fund its U.S. business past December without the government's help.
Shares of McDonald's Corp. also bolstered the blue-chips, with shares of the fast-food giant rising 1.8 percent after it reported another month of growth in all of its global markets.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising in price. The 10-year note was adding 13/32 to yield 3.74 percent, and the 30-year was up 1-13/32, yielding 4.19 percent. The American dollar was gaining on the euro but falling vs. the pound and yen.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures closed more than 2 percent higher, with oil for December delivery up $1.37, or 2.2 percent, to finish at $62.41 US a barrel.
